NOVI TRAVNIK, Oct 28 (Hina) - The Croat National Assembly decided at its constituent session in Novi Travnik on Saturday to call a referendum on the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina for November 11, the day of the general
election, and elected the president of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Ante Jelavic, its president. According to the decision, Bosnian Croats should on November 11 vote about a declaration on the rights and position of the Bosnian Croat people, which was adopted today by the Croat National Assembly. The declaration supports the establishment of "full constitutional and real equality of all three sovereign and constituent peoples in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which can only be realised through a single system of constitutional and administrative-territorial organisation of the entire Bosnia-Herzegovina, which will regulate the principles of sovereignty and constituent
NOVI TRAVNIK, Oct 28 (Hina) - The Croat National Assembly decided at
its constituent session in Novi Travnik on Saturday to call a
referendum on the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina for
November 11, the day of the general election, and elected the
president of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina
(HDZ BiH), Ante Jelavic, its president.
According to the decision, Bosnian Croats should on November 11
vote about a declaration on the rights and position of the Bosnian
Croat people, which was adopted today by the Croat National
Assembly.
The declaration supports the establishment of "full constitutional
and real equality of all three sovereign and constituent peoples in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, which can only be realised through a single
system of constitutional and administrative-territorial
organisation of the entire Bosnia-Herzegovina, which will regulate
the principles of sovereignty and constituent quality of the
peoples and the equality of citizens."
Proposals that a vote on the establishment of a third, Croat entity
within Bosnia-Herzegovina, be taken instead of the vote on the
declaration were dismissed.
The sovereignty of the Croat people in Bosnia-Herzegovina is
indisputable and inalienable, reads the declaration, stressing
that the Croat people must have its own political, scientific,
cultural, information and other constitutional institutions on the
whole BH territory.
The document also emphasises the importance for joint BH
institutions and bodies of authority to apply the principles of
consensus in decision-making, parity and rotation on key positions
of authority, as well as the right of the Croat people to elect its
own representatives.
The assembly also elected three deputies to Jelavic from three
other BH Croat parties.
"The latest events were the straw that broke the camel's back. The
unequal constitutional position of the Croat people, especially in
the BH Federation, aggravated by the flaws of the existing
administrative and territorial organisation, was additionally
worsened by the unjust decisions about the election of deputies to
the Federation Parliament's House of Peoples," said Jelavic.
Speaking at an election rally later in the day, Jelavic said the
establishment of the Assembly and the decision on the referendum
was an answer to the plans of the international community to bring
to power communists led by Zlatko Lagumdzija and Croats like
Kresimir Zubak.
Jelavic dismissed the opposition of the head of the OSCE Mission in
the country, Robert Barry, to the referendum.
Jelavic said the referendum would be financed by the Croat people in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
(hina) rml